Niskat Deenever
Niskat Deenever is a professional limmie player and captain of the Bakura Miners limmie team. She is sometimes known as the BearKat in homage to her collegee mascot, the Golden Bear. College Career Deenever was recruited to the University of Bakura, Salis D'aar , the flagship campus of the University of Bakura system, to play college limmie as a Golden Bear. Deenever played four years of varsity limmie for UBSD and was named captain of the team in 273 ABY, her senior year. That season saw the UBSD Bears share the Bakura 10 Conference go 7-2 after the Bears defeated their archrivals, the Tiarest University Burgundy, in the Big Game in the last week of the season. A loss by the Prytis College of Natural Sciences Rangers to their rival, the University of Bakura, Telaan Valley Pioneers, resulted in a tie between the two teams. Due to the fact the Bears had defeated PCNS earlier in the regular season, UBSD was awarded the Bak10's automatic Carnation Bowl berth against the Super 16 Conference and considered the Bak10 champions. Deenever's Bears would go on to lose 32-31 in overtime against the Brentaal College of Commerce in the Carnation Bowl. Deenever displayed a keen killer instinct on offense and was a primary reason for the successes UBSD enjoyed. She was a passionate college player and was often specifically planned for by opposing teams. Deenever's sturdy build meant that she could play more physically than other human females in the Bak10 conference and was rarely pushed around, even by males. Niskat's strong play in 273 resulted in her being nominated for the Helmsman Memorial Trophy. With Almert Song of Tiarest University, Deenever became the first Bakura 10 player to be nominated for the Helsman since 270 ABY. Deenever and Song both failed to win the trophy, which went to Mo Klaret of The Ord Saboak University. 274 Elite League Draft HSN Scouting ranked Deenever near the bottom of available forward players despite being a Helsman nominee. Supporters of Deenever on Bakura attributed this to a traditional "Core world" bias in Helmsman voting that believes that the historic human makeup of the Bakura 10 Conference means its plays see a lower level of competition than those in conferences like the Super 16. At the draft on Rydonni Prime, Niskat's homeworld Miners possessed an astounding three first round picks that had been compiled by the general manager Quinn Cundertol through trades. Cundertol used the third of his three picks to select Deenever in a move that was highly criticized by many sports media figures as "overpaying" for Deenever. However, reports surfaced in the following months that other teams were not buying the HSN Scouting rankings and that Deenever likely would have been taken before the Miners could have used their second round pick. Training Camp Deenever was invited to and participated in the Miners' 274 training camp. She played in all three friendly games, including the Cross Galaxy Clash and the Bloom Bowl. Deenever performed admirably, adding offensive spark to reserve lineups for the Miners. However, due to the seniority of Dorf Landa, Deenever was assigned to the Cloud City Sky Captains at the end of training camp for further development. More importantly than Deenever's play was the relationship she forged with fellow rookie Falene Trieste. The two had played directly opposite each other for three years when Trieste had been a member (and, like Deenever, senior year captain) of the PCNS Rangers. The two initially had a rocky relationship with Trieste having little affinity for Deenever. However, over time the rough edges softened and the two became best friends. This made Deenever's assignment to Bespin all the tougher for her. Sky Girl Niskat quickly integrated herself into her new squad. Despite the fact the Sky Captains had historically been a reliable way of developing players for the Miners, Deenever arrived in Cloud City to find herself without a supporting cast. Though Deenever played decently for the Captains, the team finished second to last in points scored in the Premier League and last in point differential. The experience frustrated Deenever and when the retirement of Dorf Landa opened up a spot on the Miners she was all too ready to return home. Back at the Gardens Deenever seamlessly integrated herself into the Miners offense in her rookie season. She made an immediate impact on scoring and worked well with the rest of the offense, especially Morgan Alesh and Becki Morlan. She also developed chemistry with her fellow Golden Bear, Aron Rodders. She was named a reserve player to the 275 ELL All-Star Game based on her play in the first five weeks of that season. Her strong play continued and Deenever was a large part of why the Miner offense scored the most points for 275 and won the Commissioner's Trophy en route to winning the Galactic Cup. Deenever did not receive an Ingbrand Award nomination for her play despite being a leading rookie scorer. Her teammate, Lizbit Comstock, won the award instead. Niskat was an integral part of the Miners' 277 Galactic Cup championship and received a new four year contract. She became assistant captain of the Miners at the start of the 278 season. Part of becoming assistant captain as a result of the departure of Aron Rodders was an expectation that Deenever would lead the Miner offense. She did just that in her first season with an A as the Miners scored at least 200 points for the fourth straight season and collected its second Commissioner's Trophy in the same span. For her play, Deenever received a nomination for the Salbukk Award in 278, which is awarded to the player most valuable to his or her team in the regular season. However, the Miner offense was stymied by the Rydonni Prime Monarchs and the stingy goalkeeper play of the winner of the Salbukk, Oss'irh'cgood, in the Solo Conference Final. Deenever became captain of the Miners after the retirement of Alana Glencross in 280. Under Deenever's leadership, the Miners made back-to-back Galactic Cup Finals against the Mando'ade Mercs in 284 and 285, losing both times. After questions about whether she should remain captain (and general questions about whether she was still a valuable player as the oldest one on the team), Deenever led the Miners back to the Final in 287, winning the Salbukk Award for the first time on her fourth nomination. She would also win the Numifolis Award as Playoff MVP as part of winning the Galactic Cup. The Girl They Call Niskat Fans at Bakura Gardens have developed a chant to cheer Deenever on. It was first used in 275 ABY during the Blue & Gold Bowl against the Rydonni Prime Monarchs. Up in the city in the clouds she first did come to bat Our very own carnationed Helmsman nom at that And she's our daring Golden Bear who'll knock the others flat For now we've got a hero in the girl they call Niskat! Awards *Salbukk Award: 287 (won), 278, 279, 284 (nominated) * All-Star: 277, 279, 281, 286, 286, 287 (starter); 275, 276, 278 (reserve) Category:Bakura Miners Category:Players Category:Cloud City Sky Captains